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The Libertarian Party of Cuba

Posted by Editoron February 15, 2018in Commentary|Comments Off on The Libertarian Party of Cuba

By: Daniel Nardini

There are many people who will ask what exactly is the Libertarian Party? This question alone could take a whole book or two to fulfill the answer. However, the most simple answer is that the Libertarian parties (yes, there is more than one in this world) represent parties and organizations that believe in laissez-faire capitalism, free enterprise, democracy and the rights of the individual, the sacrosanct right to privacy and a person being secure in their private and personal property, the right of any person to decide their own individual fate as long as it is not dangerous or harmful to others, and limited government. In this sense of the word, the libertarian world view could not be more the opposite of socialism. There is a Libertarian Party in the United States and also one in Canada. In fact, there are Libertarian parties in many countries in the Americas, Europe, parts of Asia such as Georgia and Israel, one in South Africa, and Libertarian parties in Australia and New Zealand.

This brings us to the creation last year of the Libertarian Party of Cuba. There was in fact an underground libertarian movement in Cuba since 1981, and only in 2017 was such a party created. Officially calling itself the Partido Libertario Cubano–Jose Marti (the Cuban Libertarian Party–Jose Marti), two of its members were arrested and imprisoned by the Communist Party of Cuba for “assaulting an agent.” This of course is bogus nonsense—the two in question were arrested for being among the founders of the Cuban Libertarian Party. The two arrested were Ubaldo Herrera Hernandez and Manuel Velazquez Visea. The Cuban Libertarian Party has three functions in order to bring the ideas of liberty and freedom to the Cuban people. They are the Libertarian Party itself, the establishment of the Mises Institute Cuba, and running Libertarian candidates for Cuba’s local elections. Additionally, the Cuban Libertarian Party will establish libraries to help provide information, books and Libertarian ideas to the Cuban people.

Sadly, all of this will most certainly have to be done underground since the Communist Party of Cuba will not allow for such a free exchange of ideas even remotely. There is a Cuban Libertarian Party–Jose Marti in exile in the United States, and Cuban Americans are keeping in touch with their compatriots in Cuba for what may be happening to them. The Cuban Libertarian Party–Jose Marti are trying any and all peaceful means to try and bring change within Cuba, and this deserves publicity in the United States and around the world. Creating an alternative party for whatever reason in a Communist state is no small endeavor, and I hope that such a movement will take hold and not be defeated by the repressive machinery that is the Communist Party of Cuba.